« First World Problems... | Main

Food Thread: Bourbon, Cornbread, And Bacon, The Three Legs Of The American Meal

Commenter "Pete Bog" poses the question: "Too much bacon?"

After I moved past the embarrassment of the question...the answer is obviously, "not enough."

In fact, it is an even more flawed question, because the bacon in the photo is homemade bacon, made from a 4H pig, which was no doubt lovingly raised by a very motivated teenager. Pete Bog, aside from his Paella-stirring blindness, is no slouch in the kitchen, and has embraced the real (not virtue-signaling) concept of "Farm To Table" and "Nose To Tail!"

Obviously not all of us have access to 4H pigs, but trying to keep the food we eat as close to the source as possible is a fine goal. Bags of chopped vegetables, containers of cut fruit, supermarket-roasted chickens, and even more processed foods are undoubtedly convenient, but they are often more expensive, expose us to food-borne illness at a higher rate than our home kitchens, and remove us from the elemental joys of preparing our own food from start to finish.

One of the things that has convinced me of the virtue-signaling silliness of most of the current food craze is the plethora of (____) milks. Show me the nipples on an almond or an oat, and I will accept them as real. But a glance at the ingredients of these ultra-processed foods should convince you of the silliness of their positions as natural replacements for evil cow milk.

But back to bacon! Even store-bought mass market bacon is tasty. I don't recall ever having bad bacon, unless it was under-cooked or burned beyond recognition. But there is a big difference between Safeway bacon and a well-made bacon or homemade. Yes, you can spend a ton of money...try Neuske's if you have some extra cash, but Costco thick-sliced bacon is quite good! Certainly better than generic supermarket bacon, and it is less expensive to boot.

The rambling point is; We can eat well and healthfully without breaking the bank, as long as we pay a bit of attention to what we start with. And that isn't necessarily more time consuming! The undeniable bonus is that it is often fun and satisfying!

******

Yum! Lovely, complex, with some nicely balanced sweetness, and a bit of vanilla and butterscotch. And the alcohol is perfectly in balance! It is 129 proof, and it drinks like a 100 proof bourbon.

Sadly, it is north of $60, but if you are going to splurge on a bourbon, this is a strong candidate.

******
My experiment with bacon/buttermilk cornbread from last week was interesting, but unsuccessful. This week I was kicked off cornbread duty, and to my everlasting disgust and disappointment, last night's version was excellent! A bit too sweet for my taste, but it was delicious nonetheless. Honey Butter Cornbread is a keeper!
******

This is exactly what I was talking about up top.

CDC says outbreak traced to pasta meals has ended with 6 deaths

Pre-cooked pasta? Hell, even nurse ratched can cook pasta!

******
I love the crap that pizzerias make to use up their extra dough. Garlic Knots are sort of disgusting, but damn, they are also delicious. I use more garlic and also dip them in olive oil, because why the hell knot?
******
If Alien landed in China
******
I have a cold from hell, I will be in and out. Please play responsibly, and don't leave the rice out on the counter overnight.
******
A friend graciously gave me some genuine grown-in-the-USA garlic, and I tasted one clove and planted the rest, because my pathetic failure last year is an anomaly...right? I hope so, because it's in the ground (actually, a large pot), and it had better work this time!

Send all of your extra antelope to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!